Drawing Conclusions
by Krazy Ky-Sta Hatter
Summary: A normal day is tuned on it's head for Paris' two heroes when Nathanaël asks for a favour. After doing so much research on them for his comics, could he have figured out their secret identities? More than one secret will be revealed, especially when the evidence is there before them in plain graphite.


_**Hello everyone! Just a little oneshot here.**_

 _ **After watching the Evillistrator ep and seeing Nathanaël drawing the Ladybug comic, I had a bit of an idea that he would probably pay a lot of attention to them, and figure out who they are. It also made me think of when Alya made Adrien look like Chat and couldn't help thinking what would happen if someone like Nathanaël had tried the same thing. And thus, this little thing was written.**_

 _ **Though, to be honest, I rewrote it a few times. It just seemed really rushed and I wasn't liking it. But I think it's pretty good now.**_

 _ **I hope you like it!**_

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Marinette stared at the blond head of hair ahead of her, a small smile on her face. She was only vaguely aware of what was happening around her in class, she was barely even paying attention to the lesson. All she knew was that it was drawing towards the end. With lunch drawing near, she just couldn't concentrate. And of course, the guy she really liked was sitting right in front of her, which didn't help. That was always distracting.

When she wasn't staring at Adrien, she found herself drawing. Just drawing random new designs in her book. But as her ideas ran out, she moved more towards mindless sketching. She soon found herself drawing a familiar pair of eyes, small images of a certain kitty cat she saved Paris with, and even the small Kwami that rested in her bag.

She could feel Tikki move and snuggle down in her purse. It was always such a comfort having her little friend so near her all the time, even if she couldn't let anyone know about her. It wasn't even her need to turn into Ladybug or anything. She just enjoyed having her with her. It was reassuring.

She looked down and realised that she had been drawing a rough sketch of Chat, that smug grin on his face and she felt heat rise in her cheeks. Quickly, she scribbled it out. She had enough of him doing that while they were working, it didn't help that that smile was starting to invade her personal life. Besides, it was stupid. She was acting like she actually _liked_ him or something. But she didn't. She liked Adrien. No matter how much that silly cat flirted with her, or smiled at her, or stared after her with that _look_ in his large green...

She was so busy daydreaming that the ringing of the bell almost startled her out of her seat. She swayed on her chair, dropping her things, but managed to grab a hold of the desk before she went flying off it herself. The clattering sound made half a dozen of her classmates turned to look at her.

"Are you alright?" Adrien asked, looking up at her in consern.

Her eyes went wide and a slight blush rose in her cheeks. "Y-yes! Yeah, I'm fine! Great!"

He gave her a smile and she had to try and hide the fact that she was melting inside. "That's good."

"Pfft! What a klutz," Chloé scoffed.

"Alright, that's enough," their teacher interrupted, stopping the situation from going anywhere else. "Everyone have a good lunch break, and I'll see you all when you get back." And with a nod, she turned and left the room.

Students started filing out after her, accompanied by the sudden loud noise of bags being packed and people talking. She was bending down and picking up her things, placing them in her bag when a shy voice drew her attention.

"Um, excuse me. Marinette, Adrien… Ah, could I talk to you two for a moment?" She stood up suddenly to find Nathanaël standing between their desks looking a little nervous, his sketchbook clutched in his hands.

A little alarmed, Marinette looked between him and Adrien, then behind her at Alya. Alya just raised an eyebrow then shrugged. "Ah – um… yeah, sure Nathanaël."

"I'll see you outside," Alya told her, putting a hand on her shoulder before leaving.

"Yeah, bro. I'll hang with Alya till you're done," Nino said to Adrien.

"Okay, see you out there," he grinned in reply. Then, to her surprise, he came around and stood next to her. "What's up Nathanaël?"

"Well, you know how I like to base my comics off real people, and real facts and events?" They both nodded. "Um, well, to put it shortly, I wanted to ask your permission if I could use you two in my new comic, 'The Miraculous Ladybug'."

"I-in what?!" Marinette gasped.

"Miraculous Ladybug. It's a comic I'm drawing based on Ladybug and Chat Noir. After they saved me when I was Akumatized… well." A blush spread across his cheeks at the memory – it had been his crush on Marinette that had motivated a lot of what he had done, after all. "I kind of got inspired to draw and write about them. But, not just them. I wanted to write about their personal lives, the people behind the masks. And that's where you two come in."

"What?!" they both cried. Marinette began to panic. Did Nathanaël know? Had he figured out that she was Ladybug? Oh god, how had he found out? And did anyone else know?

"I want to make you two the inspiration for their normal life counterparts," he clarified. She didn't know if her legs could hold her up any longer, and she sank back down in her chair. Taking that as a cue, Adrien sat down beside her, and Nathanaël pulled a chair up from the other table and sat down at the end of theirs. "I don't actually know who they really are… well, I think I don't," he said uncertainly. "So I wanted to make them someone in our class, and I decided you two were the best."

"Ah… why?" Adrien asked cautiously.

"You two look the most similar to them." He flipped through the sketchbook to the back where they saw a whole bunch of faces drawn. There were two bust sketches of each member of their class. One was normal, and the other had a mask and accessories of Ladybug or Chat Noir, depending on their gender. There were people – like Chloé – who's face had been crossed off before he had even done the second drawing. This included anyone who had already been a victim of Hawkmoth and his Akumas. "I drew everyone in the class, then drew the masks on them to see if they had the right sort of features. And, well, you two fit best. Perfectly, actually. The most I had to change was Adrien's hairstyle to get him looking exactly like Chat." He turned the page and they both peered down at the two sketches of them and she almost fainted. They didn't just look similar to Ladybug and Chat. They looked _exactly_ like them. Of course, for her, that was because she _was_ Ladybug. But Adrien... It was just startling to see that. To see how someone could go from one thing to another. It was almost like she was so used to them as they looked, that she just couldn't imagine them as the same person. But seeing the image before her...

"Whoa!" Adrien breathed. He seemed almost as panicked as her, but was also looking at the sketch of her in awe.

"W-wow, I can't believe it l-looks so similar," she said, trying and failing not to sound nervous. "That's incredible."

Adrien glanced at her curiously from the corner of his eye and she went red. Oh god, he was suspicious now. What if he figured it out? What if this drawing unmasked her?! And she really couldn't blame him. She was already trying pretty hard to ignore that nagging voice in her head that was saying just how much Adrien looked like Chat. The one that was making her hope that maybe he was… No! No, she couldn't afford to think of that. He wasn't. He couldn't be. They were nothing alike. But, then again… No! No, she wasn't thinking of this!

"I know, right? I had to slap myself to make sure I wasn't going mad. I have to admit, I was a little suspicious of you two for a while… especially since you two never seem to be around when they are."

Marinette blinked. He was right. Come to think of it, Adrien was never actually around when Chat was. Whenever Chat showed up, he had disappeared off somewhere. He usually appeared right after the attack, some time around the same time as her. Quite often with an excuse about being stuck, or turned into something. Just like she did. Her breath caught in her throat. No… No, she couldn't entertain that thought!

"Anyway, I really think you two are perfect for it, and I thought it really gave the story a good dynamic with the relationships."

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked. His voice sound a little strained, and she glanced at him. He was sitting stiffly in his chair, strange look on his face. He looked like he was _trying_ to look natural. It was very unlike him. It made something rise up in her throat, and she tried to swallow the lump down. No, she was imagining things because of the ideas she's been given. She was drawing conclusions without solid evidence. Just because she wanted him to be Chat... wait, _did_ she want him to be Chat? It would certainly make things easier... But, no. He wasn't. He wasn't Chat!

"Well, like I said, I'm using real facts and situations. I've kind of been asking around and watching you two and the two heroes. And I mean, first off, there's Alya. I love this relationship. It's just such a cool idea that Alya, the girl who runs the Ladyblog, is actually Ladybugs best friend and doesn't know it. I mean, could you imagine trying to hide something like that from your best friend?"

She let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah.. Nope! No, I tell Alya everything. Though, for a plot twist, that would be something really hard for her to do. Emotionally as well."

Nathanaël nodded. "I know, that's what I was aiming for. But I think Ladybug likes her in real life anyway. She actually gives her interviews. Ladybug never does interviews. It's like she tries to be nice to her."

"That's true," Adrien said with a slight shrug.

"And then there's the relationship between you two."

"Relationship?!"they both cried. But where Marinette just sounded panicked, Adrien sounded confused.

"Yeah. Chat Noir clearly loves Ladybug. He's always seen flirting with her."

For a moment, her irritation broke through her fear long enough for her to do more than stutter. She even snorted. "Please! Chat Noir flirts with everyone."

"No he doesn't!" Adrien said defensively.

"Yeah, I've only ever seen him flirt with her," Nathanaël agreed.

"He flirted with me," she countered. "Showing off his muscles like a giant dork and calling me 'Princess'." A slight blush seemed to have risen on Adrien's cheeks and he looked away shiftily. She was a little taken aback by that. He- he couldn't be… No! Just no!

"Ooh, really?!" Nathanaël said excitedly. "Hold on, that would be something cool to put in somewhere. Flirting with both versions of her, the shippers would _love_ it!"

"Shippers?" she groaned. Oh, she'd had more than enough of the shippers on the Ladyblog commenting on how much of a cute pair they make. 'LadyNoir' they called them. This was just going to make it worse.

Quickly, Nathanaël grabbed a notebook from his bag and jotted the idea down. As he did, Adrien flipped through the sketchbook, looking at the pages Nathanaël had already done. There were quite a few, all showing different scenes and scenarios. He stopped of one of them as themselves in class. In the picture, Alya was saying something to her.

"Wait, why does Marinette have a crush on me in this?" he asked.

Instantly, Marinette felt her face burst on fire, her hands curled tight around the desk, no doubt she was red as her Ladybug suit by now. Nathanaël just looked at him in disbelief.

"Dude, seriously?" When Adrien just looked at him slightly confused, he sighed. "Wow, you really are oblivious. That's my favourite idea, by the way. What with Mari's crush on you and Chat's crush on Ladybug, it's like a circle of you two dancing around each other, pining after the other, but as a different persona. Always so close, but just missing each other."

"I'm not oblivious," he muttered. There was a muffled chuckle, and Adrien slapped his hand to his chest, his eyes wide. She looked over curiously. That hadn't been him…

"I've been thinking that eventually they get together as a couple when Mari builds up the courage to tell Adrien she likes him, and reveals that she's actually Ladybug. That, or they get stuck in a situation where they have to reveal who they are. I can't decide."

This time, it was Adrien's turn to snort. "She wouldn't do that. Ladybug doesn't want anyone knowing who she is. Not even Chat."

"How did you know that?" she cried aghast.

"I... what?" He blinked, looking a little worried. She realised that he probably hadn't realised what he'd said. She was going to have to be careful about doing that herself. She might let something slip.

"That's never been posted anywhere. What would make you think that Chat doesn't know who she is. They're partners. Of course they'd know who the other is."

"Ah, actually, Ladybug confirmed that Chat doesn't know who she is in one of Alya's interviews," Nathanaël informed her. "She said it was for safety reasons."

"Oh..." she said. Inside, though, she was cursing at her muck up. That was stupid. She _knew_ that! On the up side, it made her look less like Ladybug. Ladybug would have known what she had said, after all.

"It's kind of stupid, though," Adrien said. "They _are_ partners. And they both trust each other. Wouldn't it be better if they knew who the other was? What if one got hurt, and they couldn't find each other? What if they lost their Miraculous? What if something happens to their Kwami?"

"What?!" Marinette squeaked, suddenly feeling winded. She'd been trying hard to convince herself that Adrien couldn't be Chat. There was still a lot of wiggle room to deny it. But that... that had confirmed it. No one else could have known about Kwamis. And if she had one, then Chat had to have one too, right? She could feel Tikki move about, seeming a lot more interested in the conversation than she had been.

Things were falling into place in her mind. How similar they looked, his convenient disappearances, knowing things he shouldn't, that voice... How had she not recognised his voice?! Now that she had stopped denying it, his voice was unmistakable.

She suddenly found it hard to breathe. The room was starting to spin slightly, but she tried not to let it show on her face. It was taking all her effort not to freak out in front of them.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

Oh god!

"I think it would be safer for them if they _did_ know each other," he went on, oblivious to his own slip up. "I mean, yeah, he probably wants to know who she is because he loves her. But he's also one of the only other people who knows what it's like living a double life. I think that would get really frustrating not having anyone to share things with. But if they did... I think that they need each other, in both parts of their lives." He looked down a bit, seeming a little put out, and she blinked up at him in surprise.

All that time she had thought that Chat's flirting was silly, and playful, and insincere... but looking at him now... could he really... No, no. She was not going to get her hopes up. Okay, so she may have accepted that he was Chat – kind of, it was still a shock at the moment – but that didn't mean that he had feelings for her... But... the valentines poem he wrote... it had sounded just like her, apart from the bit with a mask. If he was talking about a mask in relation to Ladybug, then... No, no, no! She wasn't going down that road! It was just too good to be true. Besides, she knew who he was, but he didn't actually know that Marinette was Ladybug. What if he didn't like what he saw under the mask? Heck, most of the time she could barely get a full sentence out when she talked him.

"Oh, I like that line," Nathanaël said, jotting it down. "Also, um, what's a Kwami?"

Adrien seemed to freeze as he finally realised his mistake. "Um... it's a little sprite-thing that's attached to their Miraculous. I bumped into Chat once and saw it."

She raised an eyebrow. He was really grasping at straws with that one. He was lucky that no one else knew what Kwamis were. Or that they couldn't be seen in their physical form when the heroes transformed.

He seemed really nervous, so Marinette jumped in. "Adrien's a real Chat Noir fanboy. You're secretly making his day with this."

Adrien nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, huge fanboy! The day I bumped into his was the best day ever!"

"Oh, okay. Well, it looks like I picked the right people for this then." He looked back and forth between them, an uncertain look falling upon his features. "Um... sorry, I just have to ask, because, well, I'm still not certain I..." Nathanaël took a deep breath. " _Are_ you two Chat Noir and Ladybug?"

Marinette began to laugh heartily. "Me? Ladybug? Have you seen me? I'm- I'm quiet, and shy, and clumsy. Like, _so_ clumsy! Ladybug's supposed to be good luck. I'm just bad luck. I'm not brave at all. I couldn't do what she does..."

"That's not true!" Adrien said, instantly defending her. "I mean... the bit about you not being brave and all. You're about the only person in this class that's actually stood up to Chloé without getting Akumatized. That's really something." She blushed, a small smile touching her lips. It was really good to hear him say that. Because yeah, as Ladybug she was brave and confident. But she felt like she could be. When she was just herself... well, that was just it. She was just herself. Nothing special. But when he said stuff like that, she could actually start to believe she could be like that out of the suit too. Tikki was right, after all. It was all her. She just had to have the courage to show it.

"So, you're not them then?" There was something in the tone of his voice that gave Marinette the dreadful feeling he didn't believe them.

"Nope," Adrien said. "Honestly, I have so many extra curricular activities, I don't think I'd have _time_ to be Chat Noir. My dad's assistant has to plan my schedule everyday."

"And... are you two okay if I use you for the comic? Like, bits about your life and stuff? I'll put a disclaimer at the front so everyone knows it's not you and stuff. So you don't have to worry about people knowing that- _thinking_ that you're Lady and Chat."

Marinette smiled at him. "Yeah. I think I'm okay with that," she told him. Sure, she was taking a big risk, but after all the hard work he'd done she really couldn't stand to turn him down. And she really had the feeling that perhaps he already knew. If he did know, then he was being nice and letting them keep their anonymity. He wasn't going to force them to admit it.

"Fine by me," Adrien agreed, grabbing his bag.

The grin that spread across Nathanaël's face was priceless. "Oh my god, thank you so much, guys! You're the best!" He grabbed up his books and shoved them into his bag, suddenly running out of the room looking very excited. The two of them looked at each other and were about to say something when he popped his head back in a moment. "Seriously, you guys are awesome!" And then he was gone.

Adrien couldn't help but chuckle. He stood up and held his hand out to Marinette. "So, we should probably go find Alya and Nino before they think something's happened to us."

She took his hand and grinned. "Yeah, because they're not used to that or anything," she quipped as they started down the hallway. Adrien laughed again and she lit up.

She didn't know what it was, but all of a sudden she didn't seem so nervous around him. Not now that she knew that underneath he was just that big, dorky, pun loving kitty that she trusted more than almost anyone.

For a moment, she thought about telling him right then. It was only fair, she'd figured him out. And... what if Nathanaël's idea of their romance was true? What if they really had just been liking each other in a different way, and missing out because of it? The idea that Adrien was actually Chat was... Wonderful. She adored her feline friend. Probably more than she should have sometimes. Honestly, the only reason she hadn't given into him long ago was that she had loved Adrien for a long time. But if they were the same person...

"Well, that was interesting, wasn't it?" Adrien said, breaking the silence her thoughts had created.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"I wonder where he got the idea that you had a crush on me," he said, almost laughing. Once again, Marinette turned beet red. This time, he was looking right at her and actually seemed to notice. His pace slowed and his face fell from laughter to something softer and more sincere. "You... do, don't you?"

She bit her lip, looking away. She couldn't stand to face him and see his reaction as she nodded. If Nathanaël was right and Chat did love Ladybug, then he still didn't love her yet. He didn't know who she was. He didn't love _her_ , not properly. The idea of that made her lip tremble.

"Wow, kid, you really are oblivious!" a muffled voice grumbled. Her head snapped around to see Adrien stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide and jaw clenched in fear.

"Plagg, shut up!" a desperate squeak came from her bag. There was a small gasp and she could practically imagine Tikki covering her mouth. Both she and Adrien turned their already wide eyes on her purse. Adrien's mouth was hanging open.

"Ha! You can talk Tikki!" the voice came again.

There was an angry squeak and suddenly her bag popped open and something red zipped from it, flying straight at Adrien's chest and knocked something small and black from an inner pocket. Tikki instantly grabbed a hold if it and started shaking it.

"Damn it, you stupid, stupid cat! We agreed to let them figure it out for themselves!" she cried, still violently shaking the little back cat Kwami.

"Gah! Tikki, stop!" The poor little thing's head was moving back and forwards so fast his neck would have broken if he were human. "What does it matter?! The gig was up as soon as this doofus mentioned us!"

At this Tikki hesitated and looked at Marinette. She just shrugged. "He's not wrong." She looked back at Adrien to find him still staring at the scene before him. He turned and stared at her in such shock that she thought he was going to pass out from not breathing. "Heh... um... I guess you could say the Ladybug's out of the bag?"

That seemed to snap him out of it a bit and he grinned, though it seemed a bit dazed. "Hey, puns are supposed to be my thing." She gave him a relieved grin before suddenly rounding on the Kwami.

"And you two!" She'd never seen Tikki freeze so quickly in her life. "You've know he was Chat the entire time?! Who we both were?"

"Well, um, yes," she said, looking rather guilty. "Plagg and I can sense each other. And I could always sense him in your classroom, but it wasn't until the moments when you were alone with Adrien that I knew it was him. I'm sorry, Mari, but I couldn't tell you. We made a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Adrien asked, still sounding very shell-shocked.

"Well, me and Tikki-"

"Tikki and I," the red Kwami corrected.

"Tikki and I," he grumbled, "More often than not end up picking people who are pretty close already. Don't know why. It just happens. And we've been doing this for a long time, you know. We used to tell them who the other was, but it didn't always work out."

"Some bad things have happened in the past," Tikki said sadly. "Not all of the Ladybugs and Chat Noirs have gotten along. And other times knowing their other identity has been dangerous, just like Marinette has been scared of. And other times, like Adrien said, it was more dangerous for them to not know. So, a long time ago we decided that when we choose the next Ladybug or Chat Noir, we let them figure it out on their own. Leave it up to them. Unless the situation gets bad, and then we could step in. I wanted to tell you, Marinette. It's why I never let you give up hope that Adrien would like you back, because I knew he already did." She drifted over to her friend. "I'm sorry."

"Well, I'm not!" Plagg said in the background.

Smiling, Marinette hugged her Kwami gently to her. "It's okay, Tikki, I forgive you. I completely understand. I do."

"Good," the little bug said, sighing in relief.

"Come on, I could never stay mad at you." Tikki giggled, happily snuggling into her. She turned to Adrien, who was watching the scene unfold with an uncertain look.

"Okay, so hold on, let me get this straight," he said, a hand reaching up to grab at his blond locks. "You're Ladybug."

"Yeah."

"And - and you like me?"

She hesitated a moment, the blush rising back into her cheeks. "Y-yes." He stared at her a moment longer, then suddenly burst out laughing. He had to lean on the wall and was practically in hysterics. It startled her, and Marinette frowned in annoyance. "What's so funny?" she demanded.

"Nothing!" he gasped. "Sorry, I'm sorry. This is all just so..." Another hysterical laugh escaped him. It was a little concerning, but she couldn't blame him for reacting that way. She kind of felt like she wanted to laugh and cry scream until she just got over the absurdity of it all. She wasn't sure how she was holding it all together right now. But for some reason she was. "Oh wow, this is insane. Nathanaël was right, we really have just been dancing around each other. I can't – I can't believe..."

That made Marinette giggle a little too. "Yeah, me either."

Adrien took a moment to compose himself, his had running through his hair again. "It's okay, I'm okay now... I think." He let out a long sigh then turned to her, a small smirk on his face that she definitely related to her feline friend. And not for the first time, it sent butterflies wild in her stomach. "Who would have thought that we'd be this close by the whole time..."

"I know," she said quietly, looking up at him in awe. "This is all so surreal. I don't know how I'm not freaking out right now."

"Give it time," Tikki said, floating back to her bag. "I know you. You're going to go nuts when you get back to your room."

"Probably," she said with a nod. Adrien just smirked.

"Whatever, can they just kiss already and stop acting like idiots?" He zoomed back into Adrien's pocket where his voice became muffled once more. "I want some cheese."

"Shut up, Plagg!" both Adrien and Tikki squeaked. The two teens were both red now, looking at each other in surprise. But they were startled out of it when Marinette's phone went off. It was Alya.

' _Girl, where are you? Nath's already out here. If you're not out in 5, I'm going to assume you two are finally making out._ '

If anything, she went even redder. "Alya wants to know where we are." She left out the comment about them making out. They kind of had enough to worry about without bringing that up.

He he grinned brightly and held out his arm to her. "Well, then, my Lady, shall we go?"

She smiled confidently at him, a knowing twinkle in her eye as she looped her arm through his. "Yep. Come on, my Silly Kitty. We shouldn't keep our friends waiting."

They still had a lot to talk about, obviously. Quite a lot. But there had been enough revelations for today, and there was time. For now, lunch was almost over...

And she still had to think of a way to explain this new development to Alya.


End file.
